Michael Richards outburst

Started by MacGuffin, November 20, 2006, 11:30:41 AM

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MacGuffin

Richards has angry outburst at club

LOS ANGELES - Michael Richards stunned a comedy club audience, shouting racial epithets at people who heckled him during a stand-up routine.

The 57-year-old actor-comedian, best known for playing Jerry Seinfeld's eccentric neighbor Kramer on the hit TV show "Seinfeld," was performing at the Laugh Factory in West Hollywood Friday night when he launched into the verbal rampage, according to video posted on TMZ.com.

The tirade apparently began after two black audience members started shouting at him that he wasn't funny.

Richards retorted: "Shut up! Fifty years ago we'd have you upside down with a f------ fork up your a--."

He then paced across the stage taunting the men for interrupting his show, peppering his speech with racial slurs and profanities.

"You can talk, you can talk, you're brave now mother------. Throw his a-- out. He's a n-----!" Richards shouts before repeating the racial epithet over and over again.

While there is some audible chuckling in the audience throughout the outburst, someone can be heard gasping "Oh my God" and various people "0oh" after Richard uses the n-word.

Richards performed the next night at the Laugh Factory without incident.

Calls to Richards' representatives were not immediately returned early Monday.

He refused to comment on-camera when reached by CNN, but the network reported that he said off-camera he felt sorry for what had happened and had made amends.


http://www.tmz.com/2006/11/20/kramers-racist-tirade-caught-on-tape/
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


Skeleton FilmWorks

grand theft sparrow

This almost needs its own thread.

Pozer

or at least a shared one with riggs'

grand theft sparrow

Exactly why it would need its own thread.  To distinguish why this isn't the same as ol' Sugartits.

RegularKarate

Quote from: othersparrow on November 20, 2006, 04:11:24 PM
Exactly why it would need its own thread.  To distinguish why this isn't the same as ol' Sugartits.

Precisely... another board I frequent has already covered six pages worth of comments though... and most of it was just "yeah, he's racist"... "yep"... "What a douchebag"... "holy crap, he's racist"... "we should re-edit that to include the ba-ba-bow bass sound from Seinfeld at the end"

JG

Quote from: RegularKarate on November 20, 2006, 04:39:54 PM
Quote from: othersparrow on November 20, 2006, 04:11:24 PM
Exactly why it would need its own thread.  To distinguish why this isn't the same as ol' Sugartits.

Precisely... another board I frequent has already covered six pages worth of comments though... and most of it was just "yeah, he's racist"... "yep"... "What a douchebag"... "holy crap, he's racist"... "we should re-edit that to include the ba-ba-bow bass sound from Seinfeld at the end"

He's going to apologize tonight on Letterman.  The video is pretty chilling, though. 

©brad

pretty f'ed up.

you think you know someone...

hedwig

Quote from: JG on November 20, 2006, 06:08:53 PM
Quote from: RegularKarate on November 20, 2006, 04:39:54 PM
Quote from: othersparrow on November 20, 2006, 04:11:24 PM
Exactly why it would need its own thread.  To distinguish why this isn't the same as ol' Sugartits.

Precisely... another board I frequent has already covered six pages worth of comments though... and most of it was just "yeah, he's racist"... "yep"... "What a douchebag"... "holy crap, he's racist"... "we should re-edit that to include the ba-ba-bow bass sound from Seinfeld at the end"

He's going to apologize tonight on Letterman.  The video is pretty chilling, though. 
there's a preview clip of his apology on the letterman page: http://www.cbs.com/latenight/lateshow/#

sheesh.

grand theft sparrow

I caught most of it last night.  It's unfortunate for him that he didn't read a statement because with his pauses and "umm"-ing, he's going to be branded insincere and Gibson-esque.  But there's a difference between saying something racist and BEING racist.

Of course, I wonder if I would be this forgiving if it was Larry the Cable Guy.

Pubrick

i don't think his rant was half as intense and uncomfortable as his apology. when jerry told the audience to shut up i wanted to cringe into a ball, then when they REALLY laughed it was just ridiculous. obviously it was nervous laughter.. easily the most awkward moment on tv this year. jerry came off as the coolest guy ever, except when he talked about wishing he was the piñata at a kid's party, i'm thinking "you don't wanna make references to lynching right now!"

richards looked depressed. maybe they'll keep talking about it in america, but the world will get over it. there are many more important things going on internationally right now to care about something like that, that is unless america really throws a fit.. it would be weird if everyone rioted over this and not katrina.

he was just saying what we're all thinking. :yabbse-lipsrsealed:
under the paving stones.

Pozer

Quote from: Pubrick on November 21, 2006, 12:11:32 PM
he was just saying what we're all thinking. :yabbse-lipsrsealed:
as well did you, my friend.  well said. 

i think he handled this as well as he could on the show.  not exact quotes but:  "you know, i hear your audience laughing, and i heard the jokes you made, which is fine... i'm not sure this is the proper arena to address this..." "african americans should not tolerate this crap!  it's crap and it's completely inexcusable."  "i need to do some deep searching within myself..." 

and jerry is indeed the coolest ever.  he asked kramer to come on - made light of the situation as best as he could afterwards with the story about being heckled on stage by the small town mob boss who threw the glass at his head and then he gets kicked out - heavily thanked dave for allowing "his friend to come on to handle this."


JG

the whole thing is such a mess.  i couldn't stand to watch the poor guy apologize. 

RegularKarate

Quote from: pozer on November 21, 2006, 12:31:40 PM
"african americans should not tolerate this crap!
No, he said "Afro-Americans"... there's something wrong with him.


Quote from: Pubrick on November 21, 2006, 12:11:32 PM
easily the most awkward moment on tv this year
Exactly what I was thinking while watching it.

picolas

i think this is a little overblown. i don't think he's racist at all. i think he has a really bad sense of humour (that dates back to at least the height of his fame judging from his bit on "just for laughs" ) and he was trying to make some kind of really really dumb joke out of the heckling and failed in the worst possible way. the "outburst" itself is so substanceless/meaningless it's hard to really be offended by it. the biggest victim is obviously him. i saw an interview with someone in the audience who said "he offended the entire african-american community" and i was like "how does he know?" it's all very sad and dumb.

Ravi

Quote from: picolas on November 22, 2006, 06:51:58 PM
i think this is a little overblown. i don't think he's racist at all. i think he has a really bad sense of humour (that dates back to at least the height of his fame judging from his bit on "just for laughs" ) and he was trying to make some kind of really really dumb joke out of the heckling and failed in the worst possible way.

That's just bad stand-up with some Kramer moves thrown in.